Matthew Upson stunned by ‘brilliant’ Abdoulaye Doucoure moment in Everton win v Brighton
Matthew Upson has waxed lyrical about Abdoulaye Doucoure’s brilliant first-half finish that gave Everton a two-goal lead against Brighton on Monday evening (8 May).
The Toffees raced into an early lead against their European chasing opponents through a Doucoure brace, the second goal of which was a brilliant right-footed volley straight from a Dwight McNeil cross.
Commentating on USA Network (Monday 8 May, 18:04pm), Upson heaped praise on the 30-year-old’s “absolute perfection” that gave Sean Dyche’s side a 2-0 lead after just 29 minutes of their clash at the AMEX Stadium.
“Look at the instinct of McNeil,” he said. “He gets his head up, plays it right into Doucoure and let me tell you, that is not an easy finish.
“He has to adjust his feet, slow himself down. The ball is a little bit close to him, he has to improvise and he just gets the contact, and that’s not enough because he has to get the direction.
“And look at that. Beautiful at the near post.
“Absolute perfection from Doucoure. Brilliant goal.”
Wow
Right from the first whistle, Everton were a team possessed.
Dyche’s side were snapping into tackles, pressing Brighton aggressively and winning every single second ball available.
Abdoulaye Doucoure was central to this quite scintillating start to the game, playing in a far more advanced position and being given the freedom to get into the final third and drive forward whenever he wanted.
The volley from the 30-year-old was superb. The ball was coming across his body, dipping down and he was striking from a relatively tight angle, so to even get an effort on target was impressive, but to score at Jason Steele’s near post in such style was outstanding.
Where this performance from Everton came from, who knows, but every single player in an Everton shirt should be proud of the electric opening 45 minutes on the south coast.
Against a side who had just toppled Manchester United and were lining up a charge on the Champions League spots, Dyche’s side simply outplayed them in every single department.